Paste Tense
by Links6
Summary: Sometimes...we see the end coming without even realizing it ... Shikamaru x OC


AN1: Delia is an OC by Singergirl010. I've been granted permissed to use her awesome OC for this fic! Thanks again, Singer!

AN2: Points of View changes about 3 times during this fic, so be warned! It goes from Delia, to 3rd, back to Delia, to 3rd AGAIN then on to Shikamaru's... each POV shift is marked by an ellipse.

AN3: Some AU and OOC-ness ahead, just be warned!

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_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters or themes._

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><p>.<p>

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_**Paste Tense**_

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Isn't it amazing how the world seems to lose itself as soon as the sun rises?

The fields, trees.. as if life itself is reborn and everything else fades away.

I adjusted the shoulder strap on my sheath of my katana. I've been waiting outside my house for the rest of the team to arrive. We're going on a mission today, our last before the Easter Holidays. The past few weeks were tough and we all felt it. Between fighting the Akatsuki and Orochimaru's "evil-supreme-team" we've all been feeling the strain. Since Sasuke Uchiha left it was like the whole village had turned into a pit of darkness. It was hard to miss. Seems like the intensity to beat Orochimaru had increased seven-fold and thus we've been sent on mission after mission the past few months. Tsunade apparently wants this wrapped up as soon as possible.

I just kept going, no sense in trying to tell her that it won't work like that, right? I mean, if you keep all your ninja's active the whole time they'll all wear out, and then what? But that's her decision.

It's cold today though.

I breathed out. No fog, huh? That means it's not cold.

Guess it's just me then.

Should I go get a jacket?

No.

Shika will notice.

He _always _notices things like that.

I sat down on the steps of my porch. Taking care not to loosen the bandages too much as I checked the wound. It was a cut I had received while taking down an amateur thug in the forest surrounding Konoha. It was so embarrassing, me being injured by a I-have-something-to-prove thug. The cut ran from the bottom of my collarbone right down to the center of my chest. I've cleaned it a few times but it still became infected. Purple bruising surrounded the gash and it was starting to turn black. Not exactly a good sign. I replaced the bandage and adjusted my kimono over it.

…

…

"Delia, we're ready to go" a voice came from down the road.

The girl turned her head to the voice and laughed, "Wow, Shika, you're up early" she teased. She knew exactly how much he loved dozing off and just relaxing in general.

Shikamaru came to view as he reached the top of the hill where Delia's house stood, "Haha" he laughed sarcastically and pointed his thumb to the area behind him, "Let's get going. Everybody else is already at the gate".

Delia stood up with a grin and ran to meet him, "And you're going to escort me ALL the way over there? How cute" she said and laughed when she saw his blushing face.

"Whatever" he said with a huff but still managed to sneak a smile. They walked in silence for a while until the reached the gates of Konoha. It was a comfortable silence, yet something that no-one else in their group could understand. Both Shikamaru and Delia could sit together for hours on end, staring at the clouds or just lazing around and neither would speak a word, yet their silence was never uncomfortable. Silence with serenity.

Kakashi, Tsunade, Naruto, Lee, Sakura, Ino and Neji stood, waiting, at the gates. All of them were lined with marks of insomnia, had bruises in various placed and also showed cuts and scrapes in places. "Normal patrol today. I want a clean sweep of the entire area around Konoha, understand?" Tsunade said as she looked over to each of us.

The entire group just nodded as an answer. Everyone was then paired up and sent to their own lookout and scouting points for the next twelve hours. Delia was paired with Kakashi and sent to the mountain area with him. Shikamaru was paired with Lee and sent to guard the gates. 'I wish I was paired with Shika.. I wanted to tell him' Delia thought absentmindedly as she and Kakashi made their way through the town to the mountain. As they passed the ramen stand they could see Naruto trying to convince Neji to join him in "eating the best damn ramen in the WORLD before they leave for their station, dattebyo!".

Kakashi chuckled under his mask but both kept walking.

"Delia, tell me something" Kakashi said as he jumped untop of the second Hokage's statue.

"Yeah?" she chirped and vaulted to the same spot. She landed in a handstand. Kakashi tilted his head in amusement. She laughed and slowly landed both feet to the floor, "Go ahead, Kakashi-sensei".

Kakashi narrowed his eyes for a second, thinking it over before smiling, "It's nothing. My mind was somewhere else" he said and laughed. The Umari girl who stood in front of him looked down to the side. 'The left side… she's remembering something…' Kakashi noted as he watched her eyes narrow.

"I don't think I'm going to be around for much longer, Kakashi-sensei" she said and let her blue eyes meet his grey ones.

"What's going on, Delia-san?" Kakashi asked worriedly.

"Tsunade asked me to deliver a few scrolls to Sunagakure later today" Delia said as she rubbed the back of her head apologetically.

Kakashi's face dropped, he'd thought she'd finally tell him what was going on. He could tell she was under stress by her body language. Twirling her hair around her finger continuously and she had been very cryptic in her answers during class the past month. He may not be her "sensei" as per se, but she did have a few set habits that were hard to miss.

"That's fine" he said with a dismissive shrug.

Delia laughed a bit and stared out into the sky.

"GET DOWN!" Kakashi yelled abruptly. She instantly crouched to the side, just in time to see two shuriken slicing through the air where her head had been just a moment before. "Who's there?" Kakashi called furiously as he readied his own shuriken.

Delia drew her katana from her sheath, "It's Itachi… Kisame's found some new toys to play with".

Sure enough the Akatsuki members came into view. Both were standing at the top of the Hokage mountain and jumped down to meet the two at their level. "Get out of our way. We're only here for the Kyuubi vessel" Itachi said monotonously.

Delia sighed, "Wouldn't it be easier just to leave the poor guy alone? Sheesh… " she said.

Kisame laughed and readied his sword to strike but Kakashi jumped in to shield her.

"Wait, Kisame." Itachi said and looked over to the girl behind Kakashi, "The clone master would be a problem.. I have a better solution".

Before she could react she had been drawn into Itachi's Shirangan.

"DELIA!" Kakashi screamed as he turned to face his student.

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It was black and red all around me. ..

Oh, isn't this just perfect?

So what, I am a little susceptible to hypnosis.. it's not like I go looking for it..

I looked around and saw light coming from to opposite side of a glass wall. There was no end to the sides and it stretched up too high to jump over. "You're going to die today, Delia Umari" I could hear Itachi repeat over and over in my mind, "You're going to die today, Delia Umari". I could feel my wound burning and it was starting to throb. My head ached as my world started to sway from side to side.

No.

Itachi thinks he can beat me this easily?

I drew my katana and took in a deep breath. With all the force I had I drove it into the ground at my feet. Nothing. The hallow sound of steel echoed through the walls. Must be why so few people ever survived Itachi's attacks. I tried again and again. Nothing. My hands were red and forming blisters which broke to reveal just raw skin. "You're going to die, Delia Umari… just give up!" he repeated again. Sweat lined my face and tears were forming in my eyes, blurring my vision even more. I let out a frustrated cry and tried it again. This time my katana cracked the floor underneath my feet. The voice suddenly sounded faded. I slammed it again and again. Each time the glass cracked more until finally the ground under me gave out. I started to fall. And fall. And fall into black nothingness.

"You're going to die" he kept saying to me.

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It looked like her soul had literally fallen back into her body as it jerked. She blinked and breathed heavily. There was a pool of blood on the floor in front of her and Kakashi was crouched down next to her, one hand on the floor which kept him steady.

"What happened?" she yelled and slowly bent down to his level.

Kakashi shook his head and scratched his head, "Seems like they were in a hurry to leave.." Kakashi said airily as he subtly returned his dagger into it's sheath. Delia looked at his hand but said nothing. "Are you alright?" Kakashi asked with a concerned expression on his face. She was slightly hunched over and rubbing her temple. She quickly dropped her hand and nodded.

"Let's head back" Kakashi offered as he showed her the spot on his arm where Kisame had managed to slice him. It was amazing Kisame hadn't just drowned them all..

"I think I'll go to Tsunade then… you should go to the hospital to get that healed" she said as they reached the bottom of the mountain and entered the village.

Kakashi was still holding his right arm with his other hand over the wound, but waved his right as he watched her trot off towards the Hokage's office. Kakashi could see it though. Her eyes were fading into darkness. He couldn't figure out why or what kind, but he knew she was in pain. Immense pain.

Delia left Tsunade's office with four scrolls tucked into her backpack. It was such a bother to carry around but it she knew she'd need hands open if she'd be drawn into another fight today. She could feel even her walk was slower than usual. Her vision was darkening and she was running a fever. Itachi's attack really took a toll on her, she could feel it.

"Wow, Delia, you look awful" Naruto commented as she walked past their post towards Konoha's gates. Leave it up to Naruto to point out the obvious.

"Gee thanks, Naruto" she snapped but instantly felt terrible about her reaction.

The blonde walked towards her, "Are you feeling alright, Delia nee-chan?" he asked softly. Neji stood by his post and looked over to them.

Delia smiled and waved her hand dismissively, "I'm fine. Just tired" she said and forced herself to sound cheerful.

Naruto shrugged with a grin and pointed to the gate, "Shikamaru's waiting for you at the gate.. he got permission from grandma Tsunade to escort you to Sunagakure" Naruto informed.

An awkward moment passed as Delia's face started to turn pink, "Oh" she said and gave an embarrassed chuckle.

Neji rolled his eyes but said nothing.

She walked towards the gate and stared for a moment as she saw Shikamaru. He was talking to Lee about the chuunin exams. Lee was about two months away from re-entering the exams and he'd been training non-stop since his operation. It was good to see his smiling again.

Without even turning to face her, Shika called "Hey, Delia, I'm going with you".

Delia walked up towards them and stopped for a moment just as they exited the gates, "You should ask Tsunade to treat the fracture in your shoulder before it gets worse" she said and kept walking. Lee and Shikamaru both had shocked faces firmly planted on their features. How did she always know things like that?

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They had been walking in silence as usual for a while now but all the way she kept twirling her cerulean hair. "Is there something on your mind?" Shikamaru asked eventually. He wasn't one to initiate a conversation or even ask personal questions, but she was important to him and her behaviour was worrying him. "Not really.. I've just be wondering the past few days about-" she said but stopped and looked up abruptly, "Oh my gosh! Check out that lemon!".

Shikamaru, so used to her moments of random behaviour just laughed as she threw her katana up into the tree and sliced the lemon in half. She caught both pieces and handed Shikamaru one half.

Delia stretched her arm out in front of her and caught her katana, "Can't pass this up" she said and bit into it. Apparently the immencely sour taste of it didn't bother her at all since she just happily ate it. Shika ,on the other hand, looked like he had just woken up from one of his famous mid-afternoon naps. Sour-face meets why-on-earth-did-I-just-do-that face. Delia laughed as she spotted him and silently cursed that she didn't bring her camera to get this on film. Blackmail material, baby!

After they finished, and Delia had calmed down from her laughing-spree, they kept walking. It occurred to her. She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want him to worry.

"You… never said what you wanted to say" Shikamaru said softly.

Delia thought for a moment before stopping. Shika stopped as well and turned to her, waiting for her to say something. She felt nausous from stopping the rhythmical walking and softly ran her hand over her kimono to center herself.

'She must be sick or something.. it's not like we even walked that far and she's already out of breath' Shikamaru thought to himself but kept quiet and waited patiently for her to say what she wanted.

"I know Tsunade asked me.. but could you do…. me a favor, Shikamaru?" she asked hesitantly.

At that point Shikamaru Nara had all his senses on high-alert. He'd always loved her. He's always loved Delia Umari and made a habit of compromising, adapting, caring and being more gentle all around in his speech around her. Yes, the guy was hopelessly head-over-heels and had been waiting to ask her at just the right time. He made sure to observe her habits and behavior just to see how she'd react to different situations and made sure to avoid those situations with negative results, but this? She'd never. Literally. She had never asked anyone, ANYONE in the Konohagakura for a favor. EVER. While most people would casually ask someone a favor from her, she'd stick through and make sure it was seen through to the end. This worried him. Why would she ask him a favor? This must really be important.

"C-could you deliver the scrolls to Sunagakure? It's for Gaara no Kazekage" she said with her normal placid smile in place. Delia reached for the scrolls in her backpack and motioned to hand them to him.

Shikamaru looked at her with a confused face. "Delia… Are you _sure?_" he couldn't help but ask.

She was usually so adamant to finishing missions on her own. Her energetic laughter unexpectedly filled the empty forest with amazing ease. She always had some magical way to make people comfortable and at ease with such an simple gesture, "Of course, Shika-kun" she said. She dropped the hand that had been twirling her hair to her side. He blushed a bit as she stacked the scrolls in his arms. "Alright then" he said unsurely but paused for a moment when he felt a pressure on his shoulder. He looked down to see her hands on his shoulders, turning him back to face her. Before he could even figure out what was happening, she was kissing him with soft and gentle kiss. She quickly drew back. Both of them were blushing furiously.

"Thank you, Shikamaru!" she said happily, "I'm going to miss you!". Before Shikamaru could even choke out a reply she was gone. He touched his lips and took in a deep breath, calming his excitement. That was his first kiss.

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Four days later….

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"Shikamaru!" Lee screamed and ran to meet Shika at the gate.

"What's it now? Did Ino and Sakura fight again?" Shikamaru asked with his usual bored tone. Lee stayed silent and bit his lip as he looked up at Shika.

Why does the world come to a stop when answers aren't given?

"Lee. What happened?" Shikamaru asked concerned.

Lee's eyes filled with tears "I-It's Delia" he choked out.

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Shikamaru felt a cold wave wash over him.

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What happened?

Where is she?

Is she okay?

When did it happen?

Who's responsible?

He wanted to shake Rock Lee and get all the answers at once, but instead he just kept walking to the Hokage's office. When he reached the office door he knocked. "Come in" Tsunade's voice resounded. Shikamaru opened the door and his eyes met that of the Hokage. He suddenly felt very nauseous and dizzy. He sat down on the floor as she walked closer to him.

Tsunade draped an arm over his shoulder to comfort him, "It happened two days ago.. but we only found her yesterday… it was blood poisoning.." she said softly. So softly that Shikamaru wasn't sure if she had said it or was he just imagining it.

"The funeral's today" she said and looked down to the broken nin in front of her, "I am so sorry.. we didn't know… she never told us".

Typical.

Stubborn Delia.

Always trying to take care of things, herself.

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Shikamaru stood up and nodded, "I have some training to do, please excuse me" he muttered. The gravel crunched underneath his feet.

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One. Two.

One. Two.

I have two feet. I have two feet.

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I'm going home.

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Where am I going?

Should I go to the funeral?

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Maybe they have the wrong person.

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Maybe she isn't gone.

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I'm so glad I kissed her.

Why did she kiss me?

Did she love me?

I love her.

No.

Loved?

Is it ..loved?

It's love.

Did she know?

Probably.

Why didn't she tell me?

Does she hate me?

Didn't she trust me?

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I didn't even realize that I was standing in my room. No. She did love me, that's why she didn't say anything. She would've known she's sick.. she's smart... She wouldn't have asked me to deliver the scrolls if she didn't trust me...  
>She kissed me.<br>I felt my throat tighten at these thoughts. My vision blurred as I looked up. The small red box still stood on my desk. The ring still rested between the velvet folds.  
>The sapphire, shaped into a teardrop.<p>

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I loved her.

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><p><em><strong>Thanks for reading! <strong>_

_**Please drop me a review or pm if you liked it!**_


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